


My Sobriety Looks Good on You

by DjDangerLove



Series: Tarlos March Madness [6]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Soft Mornings, TK's one year of sobriety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29885979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DjDangerLove/pseuds/DjDangerLove
Summary: On the morning of TK's one year of sobriety, Carlos is the very first person to tell him just how proud he is.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: Tarlos March Madness [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189232
Comments: 22
Kudos: 267





	My Sobriety Looks Good on You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [immortalstrand](https://archiveofourown.org/users/immortalstrand/gifts), [laelipoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/laelipoo/gifts).



> Tarlos March Madness #6 of 31

The moon still clings to the sky, the morning sun trying to push it down at a slower pace than Carlos feels like he can handle when he wakes wide eyed and with a smile on his face ten minutes before his alarm obliterates the silence of the bedroom. Excitement quickens his pulse, calming his need for caffeine in the morning as he turns over underneath what little cover he has left to claim. The man hogging the rest is still asleep, face pushed into his pillow in way that makes his deep, slow breaths sound like snoring even though he isn’t. 

Carlos feels his smile tug harder at the corners of his mouth, slow and gentle like the way TK’s hand always wraps around his just before he falls asleep. One year of sobriety softens his boyfriend’s ivory skin in the streak of dawn seeping through the slit of the curtains, making it irresistible for Carlos not to reach out and touch. The tips of his fingers drop one by one onto TK’s arm laying between them and trail upwards to the cuff of his sleeve before he slides them back down to his wrist. He curls them, feels the slow thrum of TK’s pulse beat back against his own and rolls forward to kiss the back of his boyfriend’s hand. 

TK shifts, tugging against the hand that holds him and burying his nose in his pillow even more with a sleepy protest. Carlos laughs silently at the sound as he props himself up on his elbow in order to hover and drop a kiss to the back of TK’s head. 

“I thought you’d be up before me today,” he says in between trailing kisses down the side of TK’s face that’s still visible. His mapping comes to an end with a laugh bubbling under the kiss he presses to his boyfriend’s jaw as the man exposes more of his face in drowsy delight. Instead of giving in, he nibbles at the shell of TK’s ear eliciting a startled giggle from him as he swats blindly at Carlos’ face. He misses completely and Carlos leans back in with a teasing bite and a whisper of, “But if you don’t want your morning present then I guess I’ll let you sleep a few more minutes.”

Carlos, drunk on the power he knows he has over TK in this moment, rolls away on the mattress with the intent of getting out of bed, but TK’s hand curling around his bicep prevents his escape. 

“Don’t you dare leave this bed,” TK demands, pulling on his arm with more strength than he should have for still being half asleep. Carlos goes willingly, shoulders shaking with mirth as he falls back onto the mattress to hover over TK again. His boyfriend blinks blearily at him, one eye opened wider than the other as he settles on his back underneath Carlos’ weight. He keeps still as TK reaches up to run his fingers through the loose curls in disarray on top of his head. “Good morning.”

Impatience pushes Carlos forward before he can speak and he kisses TK with an excitement that doesn’t come from the heat pooling in his belly. He pulls back, mouth still surrendering to a grin too big for his face and finally says, “Good morning, sweetheart. I’m always proud of you, but today…well, today I’m just unbelievably proud.”

TK tries to shy away from the praise, turning his head so that he’s leaning against Carlos’ arm he’s using to prop himself up. “It’s just a year.”

“No, it isn’t,” Carlos doesn’t let him get away with either, luring TK’s attention back to him with gentle fingers tapping against his chin. “It’s a big milestone and each time you reach one, I’m always going to be proud of you, so you better get used to it.”

TK bites playfully at Carlos’ arm, dark eyes peering up at him with a sheepish grin, “I’m already pretty used to it.”

“Good.”

TK’s smile slowly falls off his face as he stares up at his boyfriend, his fingers coming to scratch at the stubble growing on Carlos’ jawline as he commits the sight to memory. He never wants to forget the way the morning sun catches the constellation of freckles across his face or how the curls in his hair are free and unbound by an invisible force, mirroring the way Carlos himself unwinds when he’s at home. He swallows heavily at the feeling of Carlos’ fingers coming down to untangle his own bedhead and swears he’ll never take for granted the way this man has only ever touched him with gentle hands. 

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Carlos questions on the slow pull of amusement at the corner of his mouth. TK stares at the two lines it makes on his cheek, traces them with his fingers and silently promises he’ll wake up every day with the intention of putting them there again. 

“TK?” There’s an edge of worry staining the sound of Carlos’ voice and TK leans up to kiss him in order to wash it clean. He falls back into the pillow after a few moments, biting at the place on his lip Carlos just did before answering, “I just always want to be able to remember this.”

Carlos chuckles, the feel of it reverberating against TK’s belly from where theirs touch. “Babe, I’ll wake you up like this every morning so you don’t forget.”

Endearment settles into a grin on TK’s face, but he shakes his head. “Not that, but I’m not objecting to every morning being spent like this.”

Carlos’ brow furrows, the array of scattered freckles there squeezing together as the skin does. His hand stills on TK’s head, thumb slowly dragging over his temple. “What do you mean then?”

TK cups Carlos’ face with his hands, staring up at him with a kind of love that lets them breathe steadily in a moment such as this. “I want to remember what my sobriety looks like on you, because I’m never going to let anything stop me from making you this happy.”

The stubble at Carlos’ jaw traps most of his tears that fall, but some of them escape onto TK’s shirt until he reaches up to wipe at the love dripping off his boyfriend’s face, smiling when Carlos’ whimpers, “It’s supposed to be my day to make you feel more loved than you have in your entire life. It’s rude to try to out do me.” 

That startles a laugh out of TK, so much so all he can do is reach out and pull Carlos down completely on top of him and press it into the side of his neck as they tumble on the mattress. Eventually, Carlos settles beneath him as he straddles the cop’s waist and TK is reminded of what Carlos teased him with earlier. 

“Well, you better start trying to even the score. You could start with my morning present you were talking about.”

“Hmm, I could,” Carlos says, feigning uncertainty by tilting his head to the side and biting his lip. He gives up the act with a wicked grin and flips them back over, locking TK’s hands beside his head on the mattress and pressing his face close enough their noses touch. 

“Or…” Carlos trails off as his eyes catch the time on the backup alarm clock on the nightstand and he waits for a fraction of a second for his phone to ring. The jarring tone cuts across the room and he finishes, “I could just get ready for work.” 

This time he does escape the mattress before TK can grab him, leaving him standing beside the bed in his boxers as TK shuffles up onto his knees still trying to catch him. “Carlos,” his boyfriend warns, eyes dark and narrow as he glares at him. It only encourages Carlos to keep backing away, a well placed smirk sitting enticingly on his face. “I can’t be late for work, Babe. You should’ve gotten up earlier.”

TK fumbles until he’s sitting on the side of the bed, looking sleepily disheveled and adorably disappointed. Carlos knows the second one is being played dramatically, so he plays along with a heavy sigh and walks forward to stand between TK’s knees. He bends down to meet him with a kiss on the lips and then kisses his hair as his boyfriend hugs his waist. 

“I really do have to get ready, but I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

“You better,” TK’s breath is hot against his stomach before a justified kiss is placed there. Carlos kisses him one more time then retreats into the bathroom to get ready. 

——————

Carlos is a little surprised when he steps back into the bedroom to change into his uniform and TK isn’t there. The paramedic’s shift didn’t start for a few more hours and TK didn’t receive his one year chip until the afternoon, so he thought that TK would jump at the chance for more sleep. 

Carlos goes about putting on his uniform, TK stepping back into the room just as he’s buttoning his shirt. The man gently bats his hands away with a quiet, “Let me,” and starts doing up the buttons. TK smoothes the fresh pressed shirt down over his chest and then holds his hand out for Carlos’ badge. Carlos hands it over, watching on silently as TK pins it in the right place before running his fingers over it. 

“Please, be safe today,” TK says, voice tinged with an audible worry that he usually attempts to hide. 

“Hey,” Carlos says, catching him on the chin with the knuckle of his index finger. He smiles when TK’s eyes meet his, hoping to reassure whatever it is pestering his anxiety so suddenly. “I love you, you know.”

“I do know,” TK answers, as is their ritual and melts into Carlos’ arms as he pulls him into a hug. “Sometimes it scares me how much I love you.”

Months ago that would have cut Carlos across the heart and he would have let it bleed in the distance the words placed between them. Now though, he lets the words warm him from the inside out as he kisses the top of TK’s head. “I’ll scare you for as long as you’ll let me.”

TK’s laugh feels good against his chest where his sarcastic reply of “Romantic,” gets muffled. 

“Only the best for you, Tiger,” Carlos counters, leaning back just enough to catch TK’s gaze. “I really do have to get going, but I can’t wait to celebrate with you tonight. I’m so proud of you, Ty.”

TK bites at the bashful smile trying to spread across his face and tucks his head back under Carlos’ chin despite him needing to go. “Thank you for loving me through this year.”

Carlos hugs him tight, content to just stand there as time moves on without them. He’s going to be late for work, but his next words feel right on time. “I’m going to love you through each and every one of them.”

He feels TK smile against his neck, “That sounds much better.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos are appreciated. Comments are food.  
> Come find me @ DjDangerLove on tumblr


End file.
